7. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Cole
Ilisten to my brother and Luna chat while I pretend to sleep in the back. The whole thing is nauseating. I’m not sure who this cheesy fucker even is.
“You’ve been to every state?” he asks.
“No. I’ve never been to Hawaii. If this old girl can’t get me there, I’m not going.”
My brother laughs. I don’t know what’s so fucking funny.
“Let me guess, you’re afraid of flying.”
She’s traveled all over the country by herself. I doubt she’s afraid …
“Terrified,” she admits.
Hmph.
I roll over for the fiftieth time.
“It’s not as bad as you think.”
“No? I guess I’ll never know.” She pats the dash of the van. “Vinny here has taken me everywhere I’ve ever wanted to go.”
I smile right along with my brother. Vinny the van. Of course she named the damn thing.
“Vinny the van.” He chuckles, and the look he gives her reminds me I’m not supposed to be smiling. I’m pouting.
My parents would be so disappointed in me.
It’s not that I’m jealous. I’m not.
I’m happy for him. I am.
I squeeze my eyes closed, praying for sleep to take over. When it doesn’t, I flip to my back, staring at the colorful material she has pinned loosely to the ceiling. It’s actually pretty cozy back here.
Maybe I just don’t want to see him get hurt. Luna’s admitted she doesn’t like to stay in one place for very long. He’s going to fall for her and then I’ll be left to pick up the pieces of his broken heart.
“There’s never been any place you’ve wanted to go that you’d need to take a plane?”
She’s quiet for a moment as she thinks about it. “Here, take over.”
They switch places effortlessly while the vehicle continues down the road. I watch as she rummages through a basket of books. A wide smile crosses her face as she hugs the one she was looking for to her chest.
She falls into the passenger seat. “My mother took a trip overseas once. She went to Ireland. Her grandmother was from there.” She runs her hands lovingly over the cover. “This was a journal she kept while there. Just reading it is like being there.”
Luna begins to read, and it’s like a balm to my soul. Her voice is soothing, and her mother is a good storyteller.
“Standing on the Cliffs of Moher with calm green rolling hills behind me and the tumultuous Atlantic in front is the portrait of what it is to be alive. It’s knowing the universe is always at your back as you face the wild unknown.”
She flips through pages, reading passages. Tales of exploring castles, quiet shops, and a shepherd dog who took a break from his duties of looking after the sheep to have lunch with her on a secluded beach.
My brother listens quietly, and I feel the tug she has on his heart.
After a few minutes she closes the book. “Anyhow, I guess I got the travel bug from her.”
“Did you do a lot of traveling with her?” Carson asks.
Her head turns away from him, and she stares out the window. “No. She met my father in Montana, and he convinced her to stay. The only traveling she did after that was when she drove me to Wyoming to visit him after he ran off with Chance’s mom.”
“I’m sorry,” my brother says, taking her hand in his.
She shrugs. “I guess she’s kind of traveling now. Her ashes are in the closet. She goes everywhere with me.” The half-laugh, half-cry she releases breaks my fucking heart.
I would die without my mother.
“And here I thought you were all alone,” Carson says, lightly joking with her.
She wipes her eyes and turns her head to stare at the side of his face. “It’s true, I’ve never felt alone. I know she’s with me …” Luna pauses to shake her head and look away, “But now I see that might not be the same as physically having someone here with me.”
“I’ve never felt alone either,” my brother says, drawing my attention away from her. “My parents blessed me with a built-in best friend.”
She chuckles. “That must be nice.”
“It is. I’ve never had to do life by myself.”
Luna turns in her seat to look at me. She gives me a small smile when she sees I’m awake. “That makes my heart happy.”
I hold her gaze for what feels like way too many seconds, scolding myself for each and every one.